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Rajiv Shah, administrator of U.S. Agency for International Development, the highest post held by an Indian-American in the Obama administration, is quitting after managing and directing the massive agency that oversees aid to foreign countries. President Obama praised Shah, 41, as a driving force behind the transformation of USAID and Secretary of State John Kerry called him an outstanding leader. In a statement Shah said he would be leaving in mid-February.
“For the past five years, Raj Shah has been at the center of my Administration’s efforts to advance our global development agenda as the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development,” President Obama said in a statement released Dec. 16. While his task has been far from easy tackling natural disasters, epidemics, and famine, Obama said, his immigrant upbringing defined his character.
“… Raj, the son of proud Indian immigrants, has embodied America’s finest values by proactively advancing our development priorities, including ending global poverty, championing food security, promoting health and nutrition, expanding access to energy sources, and supporting political and economic reform in closed societies,” Obama said.
The USAID has more than 10,000 staff in 70 countries.
Secretary John Kerry praised Shah as “an outstanding Administrator, a creative innovator, and a dynamic leader,” who had made a “dramatic” mark on the agency and transformed it into a more entrepreneurial, more modern, and more nimble organization that has helped strengthen democracies and battle extreme poverty.
Kerry also praised Shah’s extraordinary work during the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. He also praised Shah for his ‘fresh thinking” and ability to be an agent of change from within the agency, bringing about a paradigm shift toward innovation, investment and partnerships with new stakeholders including the private sector and non-governmental organizations, foundations, and faith-based communities.
“I have been blessed & honored to serve with @USAID heroes. As I step down, more confident than ever in our mission,” Shah tweeted. In an extended statement on the USAID website Shah thanked President Obama for giving him the opportunity to lead the agency and said he would be stepping down in mid-February. The President’s call to end extreme poverty, Shah said, was a clarion call to reenergize the agency and make its work part of the national security agenda.
“In the years since, we have seized upon this challenge, advancing a new model of development that harnesses the power of business and innovation to achieve this goal,” Shah said, fighting hunger under the Feed the Future initiative; increasing child survival; expanding access to energy, responding to disasters; and advancing national security priorities. The U.S. Global Development Lab created under Shah’s watch has brought together entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers and students to come up with innovated ways to deal with issues.
From an agency that had been relegated to the background, the USAID under Shah, expanded and became an integral part of the administration’s outreach efforts.
A graduate of the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and the Wharton School of Business, Shah had an illustrious career even before heading USAID. Previously, he served as undersecretary and chief scientist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he created the National Institute for Food and Agriculture. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, he led the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation efforts in global health, agriculture, and financial services, including the creation of the International Finance Facility for Immunization.
Shah was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He has served as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and was named to Fortune’s 40 Under 40. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Shivam Mallick Shah and three children. Shivam Mallick Shah is a senior advisor at the non-profit education reform organization America Achieves.